Turkish Airlines employs 500 new pilots and more to join this year: CEO

Istanbul
: Turkey’s flag carrier Turkish Airlines employed 500 new pilots in 2018 and the number of new pilots is expected to reach 1,100 by the end of this year, the airline’s chief executive officer Bilal Ekşi said, says a press release.

Speaking at a ceremony, the CEO said 500 pilots, including 41 captains and 286 first officers will be trained by the company, said the press release, published on October 18.

“The fact that the majority of pilots are Turkish, shows the importance attaches by TurkishAirlines towards development of Turkey’s aviation,” he noted.

According to the statement, the flag carrier will have over 500 aircraft by 2023. Last year, the airline carried 68.6 million passengers with a 79.1 percent seat occupancy rate.